The Way Forward
by kalinda001
Summary: What would have happened if Avon and Vila met each other much earlier?
1. Chapter 1

Part 01

Slinking through dark alleys after curfew wasn't Vila's idea of fun. More like the worst idea he ever had. Every shadow and dark corner seemed to hold unknown menaces. His mouth was so dry that swallowing was painful.

It seemed too quiet. Unnaturally quiet. He was sure that everyone could hear his footsteps as he tried to move quickly through the streets. Here in what he liked to call Deltaville, or what the Federation had designated as Delta Quadrant, Grid Seven Four Two slash E, being caught wandering around the streets when there was a curfew in effect was a sure way to get hauled into the local security precinct, asked lots of questions they already seemed to have the answers to, and if you really couldn't keep your mouth shut, sent to one of the rehab centres reserved for the lower grades who needed retraining on the social niceties of their place in Federation.

Vila shivered from both the cold and the thought of retraining. He'd made the mistake of being caught once and sent to one of the rehab centres when he was young and just starting out. He was not about to make the same mistake twice. He put his arms around himself, trying to stay warm. The higher ups swore that the temperatures were all the same no matter which area of the domes you were in. That was obviously a lie. He doubted if the privileged Alphas knew what it felt like to be so cold that you could see your breath.

His stolen treasures seemed to be burning a hole in his pocket. Any moment now, he expected a security trooper to swoop down on him and demand to know what the bulge in his pocket was. He blamed it all on his friend for getting him into this situation. Though it was really more of a friend of a friend of a friend. They didn't make for very good lookouts. So now, here he was wandering the streets after curfew with a few 'borrowed' items in his pockets. If it could be any worse, he didn't want to hear it.

Why was there a curfew anyway?

No one had said. Of course, Deltas weren't really important or smart enough to have things explained to them. They just did what they were told, and it had better be yesterday.

But one thing for certain, this was one serious curfew. And they were obviously looking for someone. There were Central Security troopers everywhere. Those harbingers of doom and gloom didn't come out unless there was something really important going on.

Vila felt sorry for the poor bastard they were looking for. Central Security wasn't exactly known for its sense of humour. He was just glad it wasn't him. Now if only he could get home without being spotted.

A soft groan caught his sharp ears. It was coming from…no, he must have imagined it. The last thing he needed was to check out something that might get him into more trouble than he was already in. Vila hurried on.

There was another moan and then a crashing sound. Vila looked around nervously, hoping no one else heard the sounds. Another sound, a low moan bitten off before it could get louder.

Vila hesitated. Someone was clearly in trouble and whoever it was, was making enough noise to bring a whole Federation patrol on them. The sounds seemed to be coming from a dark corner, near several large battered storage containers. He approached carefully and peered cautiously around one of the containers.

It was what he was afraid of. A man was lying on the ground. He had a hand covering a huge bleeding wound in his chest and he was moaning softly.

From the looks of it, the man wore a tech uniform of some kind but his fine features and well-kept hands told Vila that this man was an Alpha.

That nearly made Vila leave him. He didn't like Alphas on the best of days. To see one in this state should have made him happy.

The man on the ground groaned again and tried to get up. The stranger tried it again with the same result. His voice was a ragged whisper, "Anna. Have to get back…" He seemed delirious.

Vila bent down and touched the man on the shoulder. The man reacted and tried to strike out at Vila's hand but only gasped in pain again.

Vila backed off and said, "It's alright. I'm not security. I'm here to help."

The man's wild and fevered eyes were deep with suspicion and pain. There was also fear. The man asked in an uncertain voice, "Help?" It was as if the idea of someone helping him was an alien concept he had trouble grasping.

"Yeah, you know where I get us both off the streets before you make enough noise to bring down all of Central Security on us?"

That made the man look around in apprehension and then he regarded Vila carefully. It was clear he was trying to determine if Vila could be trusted enough in his offer of help. Even half-lying on the ground and bleeding all over the place the man had a dignity and strength of character that made Vila take notice. He'd never seen Alphas close-up before.

Vila realized that this must be the man that all the Security people were looking for.

What was he thinking about earlier? If it could be any worse, he didn't want to hear it. Well it had just gotten a whole lot worse.

Vila had a momentary thought. If Central Security was so interested in this man, there might be a big reward in it for him if he turned him in.

The man's dark eyes stared at him and Vila was filled with guilt. He could almost swear that the other man knew what he was thinking. Vila said, "I wasn't thinking of it. Honest. I wouldn't turn you in. Even if you are an Alpha. The Federation is looking for you. Not in the good way. That makes you one of us."

"Does it?" the man asked as if he did not find this an agreeable notion.

Vila asked, "Do you want my help or not?"

"It appears I have no choice." The man looked very pale and he seemed to be shivering.

Of course, he was an Alpha. He wouldn't be used to the cold. Plus it looked like he'd lost a lot of blood.

First things first. Vila took his jacket off and moved to put it around the injured man's shoulders, stopping at the look in the suspicious eyes. The stranger seemed unsure about this gesture or maybe he was wondering if Vila was trying to trap him in some way. After a moment of staring at Vila and the held jacket, the man nodded and let Vila put it around him. "Thank you." His voice was cultured and polite. Just like an Alpha.

The man's jaw tightened as he fought another bout of pain. He panted as the pain passed. In a hoarse voice he said, "It's no use. Leave me." He looked exhausted.

Vila looked down at him, unsure what to do next. Even though they had just met and the man was an Alpha, there was something about him that made him not want to leave.

The man was getting weaker by the minute and his eyes seemed to no longer focus. He was barely able to gasp out, "Can you…do…something…for me?" The man's voice had changed. It was no longer as hard or suspicious. There was a faint plea in it.

"There's a woman…I need…to get a message…to her. They'll be…after her soon. Have to warn her." He tried to stick his hand inside his shirt but his hands went limp and he fell back unconscious.

Vila realized that this had been what the man had been trying to do. Despite his severe injuries and the fact that he could barely crawl, the man had been trying to warn this woman. He must love her very much.

Vila put his hand on the man's shoulder and tried to shake him gently. There was no response. The man was definitely unconscious.

Oh great. Now he was stuck with an unconscious man that Central Security was looking for. There were patrols everywhere. There was some nameless woman who was in trouble but he didn't know who it was. And he was still out in a curfew and had a stash of stolen goods in his pockets.

Somehow, the last bit didn't seem that important anymore. He had to save this man.

Vila searched man's pockets. Other than for a few tech-type tools, there was nothing to identify him. He felt for the inner pocket the man must have been trying to reach before and pulled out two documents, opening one of them at random.

Blank exit visas. The man was trying to get away. Probably with the woman he was so concerned about. Vila slipped the visas back into the man's inner pocket and patted it. The visas would fetch a lot on the underground market but it didn't feel right to steal from someone who was helpless. It was no challenge at all. Besides the man was going to need it. It was one thing being pulled in by the local security people, another thing to end up in one of the Central Security Detention Centres. Vila had heard that hardly anyone came out of those places alive, and the few unlucky ones who did were never the same again and were usually shipped off to the worst penal colonies. He shuddered.

Vila realized that he didn't even know the man's name. They'd been too busy to exchange the normal social pleasantries like names, identity numbers and why would Central Security be looking for him.

There was no way he was going to be able to carry the man back to his place. The trail of blood would be a definite give-away. He'd have to hide them both somehow until the curfew was lifted in the morning. The dark, sheltered corner they were in wasn't too bad. Maybe look for something to stop the bleeding. And clean up the trail of blood. The man was lucky that Security hadn't seen that yet.

He hoped the man would survive until he could get him some help.

Part 02

Vila looked down at the man he had rescued. The man's breathing was shallow and strained. His face had the pallor of someone sent to one of those penal colonies where you were forced to work in the mines and never saw the light of day.

The man was extremely lucky that they'd been able to find some help to get them both to safety. They were in Vila's flat now, a tiny closet of a place in one of those sandwich-type megaplexes reserved for the lower-grades. It was home and at least they were relatively safe from the prying eyes of Federation security here.

The Doc, who was really a field medic who had been invalidated out of active service because of injuries to his leg, had been able to stop the bleeding and performed some impromptu surgery to fix the damage done by the blaster shot. It wasn't a pretty job and it would probably leave a nasty scar. Delta's didn't get the best in terms of tissue regenerators, but at least the man was still alive.

Vila was feeling a bit faint himself. He decided that watching someone's chest being sliced open was an experience he didn't want repeated in this lifetime.

Vila smiled ironically, as he wondered how the man would feel if he found out that Delta-blood ran through his veins now. The man had lost a lot of blood and they were fortunate enough to be a match although the man might not consider it lucky. Vila imagined that any self-respecting Alpha would prefer dying rather than suffer the indignity of having 'inferior' blood in them.

The man hadn't woken up since he collapsed in the alley. Vila was getting worried. The Doc had said to expect him to be unconscious for a while but Vila would feel better if he woke up sooner rather than later. The Central Security troops were still on their deadly manhunt. There had already been some residence-to-residence searches in some grids. They really must want him badly.

So what was _he_ doing harbouring this fugitive? Vila had asked himself that more than once since finding the Alpha. But there was something about him. He didn't know if it was seeing the nasty wound in his chest or hearing the man's ragged breathing. Maybe he felt sorry for him. Or seeing the suspicion in the man's eyes turn to fear and concern when he kept trying to reach the unknown woman he must have loved more than his own life. Vila was a bit of a romantic at heart. The man's devotion touched him, even if the man was an Alpha. He didn't think that kind of thing existed outside the vid-entertainment channels.

The man moaned and then suddenly his eyes snapped open. His whole body seemed to tense in instant defence and his eyes had a hooded wariness and suspicion. Of course, that quick and unfortunate action caused him to clench his jaw in pain.

Vila said, "Careful. You don't want to open up your wound again."

The man's eyes narrowed and he asked in a harsh voice, "Who are you?"

Great. All that work and the man didn't even remember him. Though…did that mean the man had brain damage? The Doc didn't say anything and there didn't seem to be any injuries to the man's head. The man had seemed out of it before. Vila hoped that was it.

He said, "Just the man who saved your life. Your friendly neighbourhood hero but you can call me Vila."

The man's eyes raked Vila from top to bottom. "_You_ saved me?" He said this as if he couldn't believe that this would be possible from someone like him.

"I don't see anyone else in this room. Do you?"

The man eyed him again but this time with a much more measured look. He was still highly suspicious. "Why?"

"Just call it my good deed for the day. You were just lucky enough to be it."

The man didn't seem satisfied with this answer. He repeated again, "Why?"

Vila didn't think the man would accept his real answer, which was he didn't really know why. "Are you always like this with people who save your life?"

The man's eyes were like lasers boring into Vila's eyes, trying to get at the truth he was sure was hidden there. Vila couldn't really blame him for being suspicious. He'd probably be the same in the man's place or even worse. Being the target of a manhunt and not knowing who to trust must be a horrifying experience. Vila hoped he would never have that pleasure.

Suddenly the man's eyes widened as he realized something. He tried to get up and at the same time asked, "What time is it? How long have I been out?" He gasped involuntarily at the sharp stab of pain in his chest and fell back panting.

Vila put his hand on the man's shoulder. "Easy. That's not a good idea. You'll open up that wound again."

Through continued pain, the man asked in a tight voice, "_How long have I been out?_"

Vila looked at the chronometer on the table beside the bed. "About ten hours."

A faint look of panic appeared in the man's eyes and he tried to get up again, this time with more effort. His teeth clenched in agony but he continued his fruitless struggle to get off the bed. "Have to save Anna."

Vila put his hand on the man's shoulder and gently tried to push him back down. The man turned dark, angry eyes towards him and Vila backed off.

Vila said, "You're going to hurt yourself. Then how are you going to help Anna?"

The man asked with sharp suspicion, "What do you know about Anna?"

Vila said, "Nothing. Just that you were trying to get to someone last night even though you could barely move and there were patrols out looking for you. And you're trying to do it again. You must love her a great deal."

The man fell back panting, his face strained in pain. The effort seemed to have exhausted him. "She's…important to me." The man unexpectedly grabbed Vila's arm. "I need you to do something."

Vila already knew what was coming. "You want me to go warn Anna? Did I mention there are still Federation patrols out looking for you?"

"I…can't do it myself." The man let go of his arm.

"But there are still patrols out there looking for the two of you. What if they get me? I mean, saving you is one thing. Sticking my neck out against Federation patrols…"

The next words seemed to be ripped from the man's lips in a reluctant but beseeching whisper. He had a funny flat quality to his voice. "Please. There is no one else."

Vila almost couldn't believe his ears. An Alpha putting aside his pride to ask, nearly beg, _him, _a Delta, for help. That must have been even worse than losing his life. The man must have it bad for Anna. Vila was curious to see what this woman looked like to be able inspire this kind of love. "I really wished you hadn't said that."

"You'll do it then?"

Vila said, "I know I'm going to regret this."

The man's eyes had lost a little bit of its suspicion. He said, "Thank you, Vila."

"Yeah, well call it my good deed for _this_ day."

The man gave Vila directions on how to find Anna. "Be careful." There was a flash of quickly suppressed pain in the man's eyes that didn't come from his injuries. "They may have already arrested her. It might be a trap for me."

"Don't worry; I plan to be very, very careful." Careful was his middle name. Vila was about to turn to go when he said, "You know, I don't even know your name."

The man said, "A…it's Adrian."

The man made for a very bad liar. It was obviously not his name. He was probably trying to keep a low profile. "All right, _Adrian_. I'll be back."

**********

Vila screwed up his face in disgust as he stepped into something he would prefer not to know the origins of. He scraped the sticky brown and black material off on the post of a nearby railing. This was all he needed today.

A fugitive in his flat, Federation patrols lurking around every corner _and_ he had bad news. It was really shaping up to be a very bad week, just as bad as that time he had been caught and sent to the Juvenile Rehab Colony.

A Central Security vehicle sped past, nearly side swiping him. He barely had time to be nervous and scared that they might be looking for _him_. The car's siren sounded like someone screeching in pain; which was very appropriate since a CS presence in a Delta grid was never a good sign.

He reached his building and waited forever for one of the lifts. Vila paused outside his door, dreading his task. The man was already frantic when he thought that he couldn't get to Anna. How was he going to react to this?

Vila plucked up his courage and went inside.

'Adrian' was sitting up on his bed, his back propped against a pillow. He was working on something on his lap when he looked up. The dark eyes held a faint hope that was quickly blanked. Vila wondered why he did that.

Vila said, "I'm sorry. No one was there. I looked around and waited but…"

The blank look became pained. There was a lost look in the man's eyes as he whispered an anguished, "No!" He put a hand over his chest wound, as if it was bothering him. His voice became an obsessive, "I have to look for her. I have to find her." His head bent down to look at the object in his lap.

Vila recognized with shock that… "Hey, what are you doing with my portable computer?"

'Adrian' said distractedly, without looking up, "I had to borrow it." He turned the screen towards Vila to let him see what was on the monitor.

"That's…"

"It's the street outside here."

Vila was amazed as he saw one of his elderly neighbours entering the building. "How'd you do that?"

"I patched into the security feeds of one of the shops across the street and repositioned its cameras."

Vila grinned. "I should have known. Of course you could do that."

The man's eyes narrowed in suspicion again and his defensive walls went back up again to its previous level. "Why, of course?"

"Well, you're Kerr Avon, aren't you?"

The man became very still, though his chest began moving faster in time with his increased breath. He had suddenly become a dark and dangerous figure. One of the man's hands gripped the edge of the computer tightly. "Who's that?"

"You don't have to pretend with me. I'm not going to turn you in. If I was, I'd have done it while you were still out."

Avon's hand loosened its grip on the computer but his guard was still firmly up. "How did you find out?"

"I hear things. I was trying to find out what happened to Anna so I went to a buddy of mine to see if he knew anything. He keeps himself _informed_, if you know what I mean. He can get into computers, like you. _He_ said that there were rumours that they were looking for _you_. That you'd almost pulled off stealing five hundred million credits from the Federation Banking System."

There was a slight grimace on Avon's face. "Almost."

Vila asked, "What happened?"

Avon's voice had become flat again, "I relied on other people. Why all the questions? Or is this merely a thirst for knowledge?"

Vila said with a hint of awe in his voice, "I'd always wanted to meet you. You're something of a legend in computing circles, especially the hacking community."

"And you would know something about that, would you?" Avon's eyes took on a faintly irritated look. He hated the type of fawning that seemed to accompany becoming the best at anything and he was exceptional in more than one area. It was amusing at times but more times than not, it was a great annoyance. People always seemed to expect you to do things, like some kind of trained circus animal that he had heard about in ancient texts. The kind required to do tricks to entertain the barely-educated masses.

Vila hated the kind of arrogance that usually came with an Alpha. They always assumed that you couldn't know anything of consequence just because you were in a lower grade. "You'd be surprised." His respect for this man warred with his normal instincts to treat this Alpha as an enemy, someone not to be fraternized with. He was glad none of his Delta friends knew. "I'm a thief by trade."

"Are you really?" The man's was lacking in any normal tones that could tell Vila if he was being sarcastic, doubtful, interested or a combination of two or three.

"I can get into any lock or safe and I can break security systems. So I know a bit about computers. Not much but enough to circumvent some of the less complex ones. That's why I've heard of you."

"How enterprising of you."

Vila's eyes caught something on the computer that was still facing him. "Uh, Avon. I think we'd better get out of here."

The alarm in Vila's voice caused Avon to quickly turn the monitor around in time to see Federation Central Security forces pouring into the building. "You, fool! You brought them here! They followed you!"

Vila's voice was pitched higher in fear. "I didn't! It couldn't be. I was very careful."

"Then what do you call that! Something must have brought them here."

The two men stared at each other, the antagonism, accusation and fear etched on their faces. They both knew that things were about to get much worse.

Part 03

Central Security troops were in the building. Looking for them. Vila was frozen in fear as he stared at Avon. The man could barely get out of bed. Vila was tempted to just leave him there and run. Alone he might have a chance. Besides they were after Avon, they weren't interested in him. He was nothing to them.

Avon's face was tight with concentration. Vila could almost see the wheel's turning in Avon's head as he tried to find a way out of this mess. Vila knew he couldn't leave him. Avon didn't stand a chance on his own.

Why did it have to be him making this decision? Why couldn't he have just walked past the noises in the alley?

Avon began to work furiously on the computer; his fingers dancing over the controls. He said absently, "You should leave. I've disabled the lifts so it'll take them awhile to reach this floor. I estimate twenty-two minutes."

That made Vila feel guilty. He looked at the door and then at Avon. "You're…not coming?"

Avon paused in what he was doing and looked up at him, "Did I say I wasn't? You stand a much better chance on your own."

Vila was angry that Avon would assume that he would just leave him there. Not that he wasn't thinking about it just for a second, but that wasn't the point. "And you won't stand a chance without me. How far do you think you'd get?"

"Don't be a fool. They're not interested in you. You should save yourself."

Vila said stubbornly, "I must be crazy but I'm not leaving you."

"Sentiment is a weakness. It'll only to get you killed."

Vila asked, "Is that why you risked your life to get to Anna? Even though you knew you didn't stand a chance?"

Avon's lips pulled back, baring his teeth. "That's different."

"Look, Avon. Does it matter why? I'm not leaving and there's nothing you can do about it. Security people are on their way up. Do we really have time to argue about this? Shouldn't we figure a way to get out of here?"

The way Avon stared at him, just stared without saying anything, reminded Vila of a cat, his eyes dark and mysterious and behind them deep hidden thoughts that no one could guess at.

Avon said, "They'll be coming up the emergency access ways. Is there any other way out of this building?"

"Well, we're not like your Alpha-type buildings. Or even the Beta ones. There are no handy automated disposal systems we could go down."

"Then how…never mind. You must have maintenance shafts."

"We do, but I don't think you'll be able to manage them. You'd have to climb it. We're stuck, aren't we?"

Avon said a determined, "_Not yet._" He paused to think.

Vila pointed out, "We can't take the lifts. And the only other way is _full_ of Security people."

Avon's eyes widened as an idea came to him. "Not _full_."

"What do you mean?"

A touch of a grin lifted the corners of Avon's lips and his eyes seemed to brighten with mischief. "What if _we_ fill them?"

"I don't get it. With what?"

Avon's fingers started dancing on the computer's controls again. "People, Vila. An entire building full of people."

At that moment, a loud, blazing claxon sounded and an urgent male voice announced, "There is a fire in the building. Proceed in an orderly fashion to the nearest emergency access way. This is not a drill. I repeat, this is not a drill." The message repeated again.

Vila asked, "So we go down with everyone else?"

"That's the idea. It's still a risk. They'll try to check everyone but in the confusion and the mass of people…"

"Hopefully they'll miss us? But what if they don't?"

"It's the only chance we have unless you a better idea." Avon closed up the lid of portable computer and got out of bed slowly. Vila helped him stand up.

Vila asked, "Are you sure you can make it? There's a lot of flights going down."

"I have no choice."

Avon made his slow way to the door while Vila grabbed a few essential items and stuffed them into a shoulder bag. He picked up his jacket and was about to put it on when he fingered the material for a moment. "Avon?"

Avon turned back towards him. "What is it?"

"They're looking for us, right? Or at least, you."

Avon's eyes contained a question. "What are you thinking?"

"What if we don't look like us?"

"You mean a disguise of some kind?"

"Yeah. They'd never look for two women, would they?"

The way Avon looked at him, Vila wasn't sure if the man thought he had just escaped from a mental institution for making such a suggestion.

"You have women's clothing here?"

"Well, not here. Someone must though. With everyone going down, most of the units should be empty. We can break in."

"Alright. We'll have to make it quick." He handed the portable computer to Vila, who put it into the shoulder bag.

**********

Out in the corridor, there was chaos as people rushed around and bunched at the emergency access ways with their few precious personal possessions clutched in tight hands. Vila could barely hear himself think over the continuing claxon and the voices of the crowds. There was mass confusion and lots of pushing as people tried to rush those ahead of them. It was going to take time just to get people off this floor.

As he set to work on a door panel with his burglary tools, Vila glanced worriedly at Avon. Even with his best effort, the man wasn't moving very quickly. Avon was resting tiredly against the wall, his face pale. How were they going to make it all the way down?

There was a barely audible click and the door slid open. Vila smiled. "Nothing to it."

Avon said, "You really are a thief."

"I told you I was."

As they both quickly slipped inside and let the door close behind them, Avon said, "I don't believe anything until I see it."

"You don't trust anyone, do you?"

"I find you live longer that way. Now what?"

Vila put his shoulder bag down on a dresser and moved towards a cabinet. "Clothes cupboard. Avon, look for some makeup."

Avon didn't move for several seconds as he contemplated the use Vila was going to make of these items. With a displeased look on his face, he went to look for the necessary paraphernalia.

Vila began pulling clothes out of the cupboard and holding them up to determine if they would fit. He had known the resident of this flat was a large woman, that's why he'd chosen this one. Vila settled on a long brightly coloured baggy dress, in pink and with lots of lace at the collar and a red coat. For himself, he picked out a tasteful orange and yellow skirt with matching blouse and jacket.

He threw the clothes on the bed and went over to the dresser where Avon was. The other man had the computer out of Vila's shoulder bag again and was doing something.

Vila asked, "Where's the makeup?"

Avon pointed distractedly at a drawer beside him, "In there."

Vila saw that the drawer was partially open and slid it the rest of the way. There was a dizzying array of colours and items available. Vila wasn't sure what all of them were but he picked out a couple he was almost sure he knew the purposes of. "What are you doing?" He opened up a container, picked up a brush and dabbed it in.

Avon said, "We're going to use the lifts."

"But there's a fire alarm. Won't they all be going to ground level?" Vila pointed out as he reached towards Avon's face with the brush. Avon still had his head focused on the computer but at the approach of something from his peripheral vision, he automatically put his hand up to block Vila's hand.

Vila explained to the defensive man, "It's for your face."

Avon put his hand down and turned to the computer again. Vila took that as permission to continue and began painting Avon's face.

Avon said, "I still control the lifts with this. I locked them down after they went to ground. Now I'm going to bring them back up here. We'll get in one of them."

Avon turned his face towards Vila to give him better access. He could barely contain a snarl at the strange feeling of having something being applied to his lips.

Vila asked, "But what if they're looking for us to do that? They have to know you can." Next, he picked up some false eyelashes. They were long and curly.

"They'll be looking. But they won't know where we'll be."

As Vila brought the false lashes up to Avon's face, Avon asked with a scowl, "Is this _really_ necessary?"

"You still look too much like you. These'll help."

Avon was clearly not thrilled but he let Vila put on the lashes.

As he was doing this, Vila said, "I don't get it. All they have to do is wait until the lifts open on the ground. We're bound to be in one of them."

Avon said, "That's why none of them are going to ground after we get in. I've timed them so that they'll each open up at a different floor. We'll join the crowds on one of the floors."

"That's brilliant! You know, Avon. We might just get out of this." Vila finished with Avon and started on his own makeup.

"It would be a waste of effort if we don't."

"Not to mention fatal."

After he was done his own face, Vila handed Avon's dress and coat to him. Avon took them reluctantly.

Trying to sound sincere and not laugh at the same time, Vila said, "It's the only thing in your size. Honest." He just managed a barely hidden smirk. Avon looked as if he would rather swallow the clothes whole than wear them.

Avon's stare had become more of a glare that almost shouted, "I don't believe you."

For a moment, Vila wondered if Avon would put them on as he took off his own shirt. Avon seemed to sigh, or it could have been a growl low in his throat, before he began taking his own clothes off.

After they were properly, or improperly dressed, Vila turned around and looked at himself in the mirror. "What do you think?" It seemed to bunch in all the wrong places and it felt uncomfortable.

"You look ridiculous."

Vila stifled a giggle at the contrast between the dark morose frown on Avon's face and the bright pink dress with the lace collar. "Well, you're no beauty yourself."

"It's missing something." Avon crossed over to the clothes cupboard and rummaged through it.

Apprehensively, Vila tried to peek over his shoulders to see what he was doing. After a few moments, Avon seemed to find what he was looking for. He turned around and slapped something on Vila's head before he could react.

"What's this?"

"I believe they call it a hat," Avon said with a deadpan face.

Vila looked at himself in the mirror. "This is _not _a hat. It's...it's fruit!"

Avon's face was still completely humourless as he clarified helpfully, "It's a fruit hat."

"You don't wear fruit! You eat it!"

"Obviously, some women think otherwise." There was just a hint of a smirk on Avon's face as he put on his own headgear. A much more dignified and understated number. "Now we're ready."

"That's not fair. Why do you get that one?"

As if it made perfect sense, Avon said, "You picked the dress. It has lace. _And_ it's pink." In the face of that impeccable logic, Vila was speechless. "Let's go."

**********

The two 'women' walked towards the lifts. Vila had to resort to a long coat as well because none of the footwear fit either one of them. They hoped that the Security people didn't look too far down and noticed that one of them was wearing boots and the other a comfortable pair of loafers. Considering their appearance, Vila doubted if anyone would spare more than a glance at them. He wouldn't be surprised if some ran the other way.

They got into the lift undisturbed. Avon sent all the lifts downwards.

They both stared in front of them at the steadily decreasing numbers. Vila was nervous and his stomach didn't feel right. He really wished the numbers wouldn't go down like that. It felt like a countdown to something sinister.

Glancing over at Avon, he wondered if he felt the same fears that Vila did. It was hard to tell, Avon's face never seemed to show much emotion. Only when he was worried about Anna or there was danger of some kind. Or when he was amused about something. Vila would've figured that they were in enough danger now that he'd show something. Instead, Avon was stony-faced, his eyes a deep and unreadable riddle. Even in the dress, he still looked dignified and unassailable. Vila wondered what he was thinking.

He doubted if Avon felt as ridiculous as he was feeling at the moment in his skirt. His face felt like he was wearing a mask. He wondered how women could stand wearing it or if he had overdone it with the makeup. Vila just hoped the troopers wouldn't be too suspicious.

Avon said, "Do you know a place where we can hide for a few days?"

Vila was startled out of his thoughts. "Maybe."

"I'd like something a little more certain."

"Maybe's the best that I can do. People aren't exactly eager to stick their necks out when CS is involved. You're likely to get it chopped off."

"You did."

Vila turned his head to look at Avon. Avon was still staring in front of him, his head seemingly stuck in place. "You're not going to call me a fool again, are you?"

After several moments of silence, Vila wondered if he was going to get an answer, or if that was the answer.

"When I find Anna, we will both thank you."

The lift slowed and they readied themselves. When the door slid open, an empty corridor greeted them.

"Quickly," said Avon.

**********

The crowds pushed and strained as everyone tried to stay upright against the pressures of the people behind them. Crying babies and shouts of anger echoed in the stairwell. By the time Avon and Vila made it to the ground floor, Avon's face was ashen and he was sweating profusely. Vila was glad that he had applied a thick coat of makeup to his face or it might have given it away.

As the crowd pushed them towards the exit door, they saw Federation guards pull people to the side to stare into their faces. Avon's faintly nervous eyes met Vila's. There was nothing else they could do now except hope that the disguises worked.

Avon pulled his coat closer together and fastened the top buttons. Before they closed, Vila saw an alarming red stain. Avon's wound had opened up again and he was bleeding.

Vila measured the distance between them and the troopers. Even if they could make a break for it, they'd never be able to run far. Especially not Avon.

Five metres. Four. Three. Two…

"What are you staring at?" a Federation trooper said harshly to him. The black-clad messenger of menace roughly shoved him out the door and closer to freedom.

He glanced back and his heart almost stopped. One of the guards had pulled Avon aside. Vila had a horrible feeling.

Two of the troopers peered intently into Avon's face while Avon kept his eyes down and mumbled something incoherent.

One of the troopers shoved Avon. "Get out of here." Avon, weakened by his injury and their escape down the stairs, stumbled and fell. Vila rushed over and helped him up. He pitched his voice higher and said, "Are you alright, Wilhelmina? Did they hurt you?"

The troopers didn't seem to notice. They were already harassing some other poor resident of the building.

Avon held onto Vila's arm as they made their way away from the building and the watchful eyes of the Security people.

Avon whispered, "Wilhelmina?"

"Well, its better than Adrian. Did anyone tell you that's a terrible alias? It sounds too much like Avon."

"I'll remember that next time."

As they passed one of the Security vans, Vila glanced inside. He nearly stopped in shocked recognition but managed to keep walking ahead.

Avon whispered, "What's wrong?"

"It's the Doc. It looks like he was beaten up."

Avon said, "That's how they found us."

Vila said, "I hope they didn't hurt him too much."

"He betrayed us, Vila."

"I suppose. But…"

They ducked into an alley. Avon leaned tiredly against the wall as Vila peeked around the corner to see if anyone had followed them.

Vila breathed a sigh of relief when he didn't see anyone. It looked like they were going to get away after all. He heard the sound of something heavy falling behind him and whirled around. "Avon!"

Avon had collapsed to the ground. He was clearly unconscious. With trembling fingers, Vila opened up the coat buttons. He grimaced. The red stain had become a large patch covering Avon's chest. As he looked around helplessly, it almost felt as if they were back where they had started.

Part 04

Nervous thoughts raced through Vila's brain as he stared at Avon's unconscious and bleeding form. There were Federation Security troops a couple of blocks away, probably trashing his place. If he really tried hard, he _might_ be able to imagine them not making a line straight for their hiding place.

They had to get out of here. Preferably, before anyone saw them. _And_ he needed help. There was no way he was going to carry Avon out by himself without looking a bit suspicious. Or ridiculous for that matter. They were both still wearing feminine attire and Vila was trying to ignore the uncomfortable feeling that there was a draft in places where there normally shouldn't be. He wondered how women could wear something so…well...he didn't really want to think about that now either. He had more important matters to worry about.

A pale-faced Avon groaned and shifted on the ground. His eyes popped open. For a moment he seemed disoriented and then there was recognition in his eyes as they rested on Vila. His voice was weak and thready, "What happened?"

Vila bent down quickly. "Shhh. There are troops nearby. You fainted. Must be my knock out personality." It sounded lame, even to him but fear wasn't a great comic inspiration.

Avon stared at him for a moment, probably hoping he wasn't going to be stuck with this comedy act for too long, and then he looked toward the entranceway leading out of the alley. He whispered, "Is there a way out of here?"

"It's a dead end."

"Wonderful."

He tried to get up, grimaced at the pain and lay back down. His hand went to the collar of the coat he was wearing, scowling when his fingers felt the lace and he registered that he was currently wearing a dress. He opened up the coat. There was a large, slowly spreading red stain over his wound.

Vila said helpfully, "You're bleeding."

Avon looked up at him, wondering if Deltas really found it necessary to state the obvious. "I can see that," he said irritably. When Vila didn't appear to be making any moves to give him any assistance, he said, "Well? Are you going to help me up or should I bleed a little more before you decide what to do?"

"Well, that's gratitude for you," grumbled Vila as he gave Avon a hand. "I could have just left you there. I didn't have to stay, you know."

There was a grimace in Avon's eyes. Vila wasn't sure if it was from the pain of trying to get up or if the other man felt guilty.

When Avon was finally standing, Vila had to keep his arm around him for support. It was clear they weren't going to get very far.

Avon looked intently at him. Or he could have been thinking and just happened to be looking in Vila's direction. It was hard to tell. After a few seconds, Avon looked away and his eyes swept the alley. He said, "You should leave."

It was Vila's turn to stare at him. "What? Are you trying to get rid of me?" Anger crept into his voice, "I really should just leave you! You wouldn't stand two minutes without me and you know it! You…"

Avon glanced at him and then he looked at the alley again. Vila stopped his tirade. From the look in the other man's eyes, he realized Avon knew that he didn't stand a chance without him. Now _he_ felt bad. "Look, Avon. Maybe we just rub each other the wrong way. Or it's some Alpha-Delta rivalry. Or we're just two bastards. But I'm not going to leave you, alright? I know what you're trying to do but we're in this together. We're both going to find Anna."

Avon's jaw tightened slightly and he was very still for a moment. Then he asked, "Can you get us into that building?" He pointed to a door not far down the alley.

Vila hesitated for a second before going to look at the lock. He really wished the man would stop changing the topic without warning. "Yeah, it's easy. Standard Plinkton double-slotted. Nothing to it. I could open it with my eyes shut and one hand tied behind my back."

Avon stared at him again, causing Vila to say, "Oh. Right." He opened up his shoulder bag, take out his toolkit and start work on the lock. "What's this going to do? You know they're going to search all the buildings around here. They're going to find us." There was a slight click and Vila opened the door. Grinning with pride, he said, "Didn't I say there was nothing to it?"

"So you did. Let's get out of the alley."

Vila helped Avon into the building.

**********

The building was dark on the inside, with only faint illumination from the few windows. They both coughed at the dust raised by their feet. Crowded boxes and unidentified objects greeted them at every turn. There was hardly any moving room. Vila had to push some things out of the way so that Avon could sit on a crate of some sort. The man was sweating from the effort of trying to walk and he looked as if he'd just run a long distance race. He leaned back heavily against the wall while Vila checked out their temporary location.

"What do you think this place is?" Vila opened up a few drawers. Trays full of ancient data chips, half of them broken by the looks of it. A few had replicas of extinct animals, not in very good condition.

Avon had been looking around curiously from where he was sitting. "A repository of some kind I imagine. For unwanted items."

"I wish _we_ were unwanted," said Vila as he checked out a few more useless items.

"Give me your portable computer," said Avon. He had his coat open again and this time the dress had been unbuttoned to reveal the source of the bleeding. Hunting around, Avon found a clean enough cloth and pressed it against the wound. "It's not too bad. It looks worse than it is. Just have to stop the bleeding."

"I suppose it could be worse." Vila put his shoulder bag down and pulled the computer unit out. When he put it next to Avon, the other man's eyes were closed and he appeared to be resting. Or sleeping. Avon's hand fell limply away from the cloth he had been pressing against his wound. Definitely sleeping.

Unfortunately now was not the time for slumber. Every minute they were here was dangerous. He shook the man gently. Avon jerked awake and brought his hand up to defend himself but stopped when he saw Vila. The man certainly was jumpy. Vila wondered what had happened to him that made him so defensive the moment he woke up. "It's alright, you fell asleep."

Avon shook his head. His mind felt sluggish and he was feeling very warm. It was not a good sign. He checked the wound. It was tender when he pressed on it. The bleeding seemed to have stopped but it looked like he might be suffering from an infection. He needed a way to clean the wound and some medication would be needed.

Unfortunately, their present problems made this a lesser priority. First things first. With his free hand, he pulled over the portable computer, balanced it on his lap and turned it on. The screen lit instantly and showed a strong signal to the nearby network. At least that was working. He pressed a few keys. There was a grim look on his face as the view from the front of Vila's building was displayed. It appeared that the CS troops were still occupied harassing helpless and variedly protesting tenants.

"Well, that's good," said Vila as he looked over Avon's shoulder. "I mean, not good for them but good for us. At least we can see when they're done."

Avon pressed a few more keys and the building view disappeared. Screens of informational pages began appearing on the screen.

Vila said, "Hey, how are we going to keep an eye on them if you do that? How are we going to know when they come looking for us?"

Avon kept working and answered him distractedly, "They're not."

"What do you mean, they're not?"

"Because they've already found us."

Vila looked around wildly in alarm, his hands up to ward off any threats. "Where? Where?" Nothing jumped at them from the shadows.

Avon glanced at his actions with amusement and said dryly, "Not here."

Vila put his hands down in relief and consternation, "Well, you could have told _me_ that. Nearly gave me a heart attack." Avon seemed to like making dramatic statements and then clarifying them after they produced the normal panic. Vila wondered if this was a normal Alpha thing. He always thought they were a bunch of show-offs who liked to show how clever they were to the 'lesser grades'.

A smile touched Avon's lips as he looked down at the computer again and continued working. This time Vila could see an ominous seal splashed across the screen.

Vila exclaimed in alarm, "You're breaking into the Central Security network? Are you crazy?"

"Not the entire network. Just the call logs. Those are relatively unprotected. Level One security only. I just need…" Avon was looking at a list that appeared on his screen and then other screens full of information replaced each other in rapid succession. "…to emulate the call signature and security handle." His fingers seemed to be racing each other over the controls.

Vila was watching without comprehending what he was trying to do. The streams of data made no sense to him. Most of it wasn't even in Federation Standard. It seemed to be some language only machines could possibly understand. "How's this going to help? They're still going to come here eventually. Then we're done for."

Avon's fingers slowed down as he finished what he was doing. "Not if they _think_ they've already found us."

"How?"

A wolfish grin appeared on Avon's face. "I told them they have." The screen changed back to the view in front of Vila's building again. They could both see the Security people rushing to their vehicles. Avon entered a few commands. "I've sent them…here." The scene changed and they could see another building.

Vila said with shock, "You really are crazy! That's on _this_ street! We have to get out of here!" He looked ready to bolt.

Avon's face was inexpressive but there was an expectant eagerness in his eyes. He said, "Wait."

Vila was caught between wanting to run and not leaving this lunatic who insisted on getting himself killed. That indecision allowed enough time for the Security vehicles to arrive at the scene of the building on their street. They could hear the claxons and then muffled noises from outside. Vila rushed to the window and flattening himself against the edge, peeked out. Sure enough, the Security troops were already pouring into the building several doors down.

It was too late now. "Well, I guess it's been nice knowing you, Avon," said Vila. They were words he wasn't sure he really felt it.

Part 05

Avon stared at Vila and then looked down at the computer. He seemed to be waiting for something.

Vila looked out of the window again and wondered why he couldn't have found someone who didn't seem to think saying more than a few words was a luxury he couldn't afford. He was surprised when some of the Security people came back out.  
They couldn't have searched the entire building already. Could they have? Or...Vila had a sickening feeling that was churning his stomach. Maybe they already knew where they were hiding and were coming here. How far apart were the two buildings? It seemed shorter by the minute.  
The Security people seemed to be acting strangely. As if they weren't sure about something. "Avon, something's happening."

A hint of a smile brightened Avon's eyes and touched the corner's of his lips; there was an aggressive quality to it.

Vila looked out of the window again. He stared open-mouthed when barely clad women and men came streaming out of the building, escorted by more nervous Security people. The troopers seemed to be unsure of what was going on.

He looked hard at some of the outfits on the people coming out. Some of them appeared to be wearing… Vila's face turned several shades of red. He'd heard of such places but… How could he live several streets down and never suspected that…? He turned back to the man who was watching all of this on his computer. "Avon, do you know what this place is?"

Without looking up, Avon said offhandedly, "Of course. Don't you?" His faced was focused and he appeared to be doing something on the computer again. He absently tried to adjust some of the lace around his neck. His lips twisted in irritation at the stubborn material. More streams of data replaced the view of the building currently being raided.

Vila was still stunned as he continued observing the commotions outside. "I knew it was one of _those_ places. But…not one of _these_ places. "I mean…look at them." Some of the women were gorgeous and some of the men too. Their outfits didn't leave a lot to the imagination. Or rather, some outfits left a lot of material for imagination.

Vila noticed some other people too. Ones that seemed almost violently shy about covering themselves up. Several were clearly angry and arguing with the Security people. Vila guessed they were the customers. It was strange. They didn't seem like your average lower-grades. They wore lower-grade clothing. Well, for some of them, it must have been their version of what they thought the lower grades wore. It made them look like the performers who appeared on some of the vid-shows Vila watched. He knew that some of the higher grades like slumming it occasionally; visiting places where they could do things that they couldn't find in the Alpha sectors.

One person, a beautifully intimidating woman in black leather came out of the building and was hitting a harassed Security officer over the head with a… Vila could have sworn it was a whip.

The poor man was a Captain by his shoulder markings. He had his hands up to try to defend himself. He didn't even try reaching for the pistol that was handily by his side. The woman was angry. Or she seemed to be enjoying what she was doing. Or both. Vila really didn't want to know. The woman leaned forward suddenly and whispered something in the Captain's ear. The man turned a shade of pale that Vila had never seen before. The Captain gulped and nodded. He said a few words. The woman said a few words.

The Captain began issuing orders.

Vila said behind him, "Uh, Avon, something else is happening."

"Good."

Vila turned around, "What do you mean good? Do you know what's going on?"

"I imagine that the Security people are about to leave?"

Vila turned to look out the window again. Sure enough, the black clad troopers were starting to pile back into their vehicles. Some of them seemed to be gripping too hard on their weapons, as if in desperate defence against something they had never encountered before and never hoped to again. It was hard to tell with their faceplates down. "How'd you know?"

Avon chuckled. "It's not just one of _those_ places."

"Then what is it?" asked Vila irritated. He really wished this man wouldn't be so cryptic with his answers. Did he think it was clever? Did he like keeping people guessing?

"This place belongs to Central Security."

"What?!" Vila backed away from the window, wondering how many levels of craziness that this man could exhibit in one day. Maybe he did get knocked on the head. And very hard.

"It's one of their most secure facilities for extracting information. Among other things. Not many people know of it. Even in their own service. It was very clever of you to pick this street."

Vila wasn't feeling very clever. More sick to his stomach.

Avon seemed to be finished with whatever it was he was doing and turned his head towards him. He took in the look on Vila's face and said, "You can relax. For now. They're going to be preoccupied for awhile."

"How do you figure that?"

Avon chuckled again. "The existence of this location is highly classified and it has just been part of a very public raid by their own people. Did you recognize some of the people who came out of the building?"

Vila was very interested in this. "You do?" He wondered how Avon knew of this place. He was an Alpha. Vila wondered if...

"I recognized at least one member of the High Council and a high ranking official from Space Command."

"Oh." It wasn't what he thought. He said sarcastically, "Well, I don't travel in such exalted circles as you do. I'm only a Delta."

Avon looked hard at him. "I presume you're not a _blind_ Delta. Don't you watch the news services?"

"I never pay much attention to politics. It never did us any good."

Avon wondered if this self-pitying attitude was common amongst the lower grades. He didn't have much respect for people who wallowed in it and didn't do anything to improve their own situation. Everyone had a chance if they didn't sit back and feel sorry for themselves. Being in a lower grade was no excuse. Even if you were a Delta.

It was odd though. Vila had risked his neck to help him. He wouldn't have thought it likely. Avon wondered if it was a case of irrational sentiment. No matter what he thought of it, at least it was benefiting him, and hopefully Anna too.

At the thought of Anna, there was a twinge of stress in his lower back. He grimaced and looked down at the computer again. He hadn't been able to find her. None of his cleverness with the Security computers had told him the one thing he wanted to know. There was not even a record of Security finding Anna at their hiding place. It was as if she never existed.

Avon said, "Tell me when they're all gone. I'm going to send them somewhere else." His fingers worked on the computer again.

Vila looked out of the window again. He muttered, "You could have told me about the brothel."

"You didn't ask," said Avon.

Vila turned to look at him. "You mean, you would have told me if I asked you?"

"That's generally the way it works. You ask a question. I answer it."

"You mean, like a computer?"

Avon stared at him. Vila thought that he saw a brief flash of pain in the other man's eyes but he told himself that he imagined it because Avon's eyes became icy cold. "I am not a computer."

Vila wondered why he was getting so defensive again. The man did seem to be defensive about so many things. "I'm not saying _you're_ a computer. You know...people might like to know things without having to ask for it. What if we don't know what to ask?"

"Then I suggest you learn."

There was a sound outside the door. Someone was about to come in. Avon and Vila's eyes widened in shock.

**_TO BE CONTINUED..._**


	2. Chapter 2

Part 06

Vila was wondering if he should consider getting out of bed on a different side from now on because obviously whichever side he got out of this morning was definitely the wrong side. Not only was he stuck with a wanted man who could barely move, not to mention he was one of your typical arrogant Alphas who thought he was better than anyone else, their temporary hideaway was becoming more temporary by the moment because someone was about to come in and find them.

Avon ordered urgently, "Quick find something to hit them over the head with and hide behind the door."

Vila said in a panic, "Why don't _you_ find something?"

The bleeding and increasingly pale-looking man said acidly, "Do I look like I can?"

The man had a point but Vila didn't like the idea of hitting people. He always avoided it if humanly possible. "We could hide."

Avon gave him a hard stare that seemed to go straight through him. "_You_ could." The stare directed itself to the door that was about to open. A look passed across his face like a barely visible shadow. "Don't come out until I'm gone."

Vila whispered, "Now wait a minute, I didn't mean it like that."

"Don't be a fool, Vila!"

Every time this man tried to push him away, it spurred Vila to want to do something for him. He grabbed a short rounded stick that was leaning against a cabinet.

Avon whispered, "Wait!" He tilted his head in concentration, straining to listen. "They're not coming in here."

Vila went to the door and placed his ear to its smooth, cold surface. He could hear something slide open and then footsteps. "You're right. They're going next door. They must've had the wrong door before."

Avon realized that if the object had been their door, they wouldn't have had time to argue before; they'd already have been discovered. Whoever it was must've gone to the wrong door, had trouble opening it and realized that they were trying the wrong one.

They both breathed a cautious sigh of relief. Avon said, "We have to get out of here. It's not safe."

"Yeah, what if the real owner comes. The way our luck's been going that might be any minute now."

A glance of shared paranoia passed between them as they listened for any further indications of activity outside. When none materialized, Vila gave a short nervous laugh. "I guess we're being too paranoid."

Avon said dryly, "Would you rather be dead?"

"Well, if you put it like that…" Vila came towards him.

Avon eyed the stick that was still in Vila's hand. It looked more like a short club with a knob at the end. "The reward is considerable."

"What reward?" asked Vila as he put the stick on the table and helped Avon up.

Avon gritted his teeth at the pain. "On me."

"I wish you hadn't said that," said Vila as he gathered up the computer and stuffed it back into his shoulder bag.

Avon checked his shoulder wound and stuffed another nearly clean cloth on it before closing up the dress. He tugged irritably at the itchy-laced collar again and was nearly tempted to rip it out before he buttoned up the coat.

Avon remarked with the voice of a man who knew too much to expect anything other than the worst, "Too much of a temptation?"

"Nah. I don't like knowing what I could've had. You ready?" Vila readjusted the skirt that had turned itself partially around. He was sure that his hips didn't look right as he looked at himself on a reflecting surface.

Avon didn't look like he was in any condition to get very far but they didn't have much of a choice. Vila hoped they'd be able get to a safer place before the man passed out again.

Avon stared at him for a moment. It was not often that his worst expectations were not borne out. Anna had surprised him. He wondered if Vila would prove to be different too.

**********

Why is it that when you're doing something illegal or trying to hide from the authorities, everywhere you turn, all eyes seem to be staring straight at you? And not just that, they all seem to have a look that said they knew what you were doing, and were going to report you to the authorities the moment your back was turned.

Vila knew this feeling all too uncomfortably well. It was his least favourite part of being a thief. If only he could have been one without any danger of prying eyes. He often wished he could become invisible and then he'd always be safe and no one would want him to do things he didn't want to do.

Invisibility would have come in very handy right about now.

Vila held tightly onto Avon's elbow as they made their way slowly along the avenue. He was sure that if he didn't, Avon would fall over. The man was increasingly leaning against him and he sounded like he'd run around the block a couple of times already.

This was looking to be a terrible idea. He wished they'd stayed put rather than risk this marathon of the desperate.

Avon panted, "Let's get a vehicle."

"Are you crazy?" asked Vila.

"I assume you know how to break into one."

"Well, of course I do. The lock and the lock overrides are dead easy. But you know the moment we try to activate it, they'll make us. Once the computer fires up and it connects…" Vila's eyes widened. "Of course, the computer. You can hack it?"

Avon said matter-of-factly, "Of course."

Vila grinned, "You know Avon, this might be the start of a beautiful friendship."

Part 07

Their getaway vehicle was one of your typical near-its-last-legs types that you would find in the Delta grids. No one in their right minds would drive something nicer here, unless you wanted the wrong kind of attention. Not that it would get stolen or anything. That was impossible these days with all vehicles tied into the transport networks.

Well, not exactly impossible. Vila grinned. All you needed was a clever computer tech and an extremely talented thief.

He stretched his legs out. At least the vehicle had lots of room. It looked to be a commercial transport of some kind. Not that it was surprising. There were no personal vehicles, at least not for the lower grades. That was the sole privilege of the Alphas. The rest of them had to hoof it on the public conveyances.

Vila glanced over at Avon. The man was busy with a navigation panel. He seemed to know his way around the vehicle. Well, being an Alpha, he probably had a snazzy one in his other life. Before he became one of the Federation's most wanted. Vila wondered what the price on his head was. Not that he was interested of course. He was just curious. Vila asked, "Where are we going?"

Avon turned his head to stare at him and then he looked back down at the panel. "That's what I'm trying to determine. We need to get out of these clothes."

Vila looked down at himself. He couldn't believe that he'd almost forgotten that they were both wearing women's clothing. He was starting to feel far too comfortable in his. It was a disturbing thought. He shivered and said, "I'm all for that. Any ideas?"

"This is your grid. What do you suggest?"

Vila thought for a moment. He had been thinking of a place earlier. Before they had left his building. "Well, I do have a friend. He's the one I told you about before. The hacker."

"Can he be trusted?"

"Well, as much as you can trust anyone these days."

"Which means no," remarked Avon with practiced cynicism.

The Doc was on both their minds. The man had betrayed them. That's why they were forced to run around dressed up like women.

"I didn't say that. But it's not like we have a choice. Can't think of anyone else who'd risk taking us in."

Avon grimaced. The thief was right. Their options were extremely limited. They didn't have a choice.

_Trust is only dangerous if you have to rely on it. _For an instant, Avon was held by a memory; the image of Anna on a bed, her hands clutching a sheet. It was the last night they had spent together. He would give anything to feel her next to him again. The only consolation he had was that Anna would know that he would never give up until he found her. He hoped she could hang on until then. "Alright, where is this hacker?"

**********

The computer hacker was a tall, lanky man with light brown hair. He seemed to have a perpetual hunch when sitting in front of a computer screen but when he stood, it was with a straight back.

Avon's eyes immediately registered a hooded wariness and alarm when the man stood aside to let them into his flat. His voice was almost a hiss, "He's Federation military." After a lifetime of serving various classified Federation interests, he could always tell. Avon held up an arm to prevent Vila from going inside.

The hacker's intelligent eyes swept the corridor to either side, making sure no one else was around. "I'm _ex_-Federation military. Used to be in the Strike Forces." The same eyes took in their sad-looking disguises. The makeup they used was not standing up to the test of time. They were both starting to look like very ugly women. "You'd better get out of the corridor before anyone sees you. I have a reputation, you know."

Reluctantly and leaning heavily on Vila, Avon entered.

The hacker dragged over a chair. "Here you'd better sit down. You don't look very good."

Vila lowered Avon into the chair. A single glance took in the whole flat. A solitary room with separate corners for sleeping, eating, washing and a tech-packed corner with a computer holding court in the middle. Everything a person would need if you didn't like walking more than a few steps. Well, it wasn't _that_ bad but it did feel cramped.

The hacker held out his hand. "I'm Ture by the way."

Avon stared at the gesture for a moment as if he was unfamiliar with it or he couldn't figure out why someone would extend it to him. When he took the other man's hand, it was in a firm shake. "The name's…" Avon stopped and looked at Vila. He wasn't sure what the thief had told the hacker about him. It was safer to use an alias. The hacker would expect it. "…Wilhelmina."

Part 08

"Wilhelmina?" Ture started laughing. "Your reputation didn't say that you had a sense of humour."

Avon lips formed a snarl of irritation. "You know who I am?"

Ture's attitude quickly turned from amusement to something else. "Of course. You're the great Kerr Avon."

Avon grimaced; it was just as he had been afraid of. A tech-head. Avon didn't mind a bit of idle worship occasionally. It was no more than he deserved, but fawning could get irritating very quickly.

They didn't have time for the numerous and inevitable questions that he knew were going to follow, not to mention the requests. If someone asked him to look at another code-breaking algorithm again, he wasn't going to guarantee what he was going to do.

He decided to end this before it began. Avon said, "Yes, my…friend…must have told you." He threw an annoyed glare at Vila.

Vila said defensively, "Well, I had to. It was the only way to get him to help."

Ture said, "When I heard who I'd be doing it for…it was my honour to help the great…"

"Yes, well, let's not start all that again," said Avon.

Ture said apologetically, "You must get that a lot. I'm sorry."

Avon looked around the room and spotted the tech corner. "No need to apologize but we are in a hurry."

Ture said instantaneously, "Of course. You wouldn't be here if you didn't have to be. There's still a manhunt out for you."

"Yes. I need to borrow some of your equipment and we need a place to sleep for the night."

Ture said warmly, "It'd be an honour to have you use my equipment. And you can stay here as long as you want."

Avon immediately headed for the computer in the corner. "That's not needed. It's too dangerous if we stayed."

Ture nodded. "Of course. I heard you were a cautious man."

"Caution has kept me alive," said Avon as he sat down.

Vila muttered behind him, "Just barely."

Avon turned around and fixed him with a stare before he said to Ture, "The longer we stay here, the greater the danger for you."

Ture said, "Don't worry about me. I'm good at getting out of scrapes. That's why I have all this." He waved his hand expansively to indicate all of the ramshackle-looking equipment in the corner. "This may not look like much but…"

Avon was staring at some of the equipment. "You have a Torsin scanner and a modified L-wave emitter."

Ture had a big grin on his face. It gave him the look of a little boy surveying an embarrassing treasure of toys. "It figures you would spot those first. I modified the emitter myself."

Avon picked up the indicated object and turned it over in his hands. It was a multi-looped piece of equipment that was attached to a box with numerous lights, buttons and several trailing optical leads. "This can emulate the phase frequencies of Federation Security networks. I assume you've been able to break into their computer system?"

Ture looked embarrassed at having to describe his own meagre attempts. "Just the first layer. I could never get past the encryption of the next level. And if you can't…"

Avon said with faint approval, "its better not to try. Very wise. It's why you're still here." He turned the emitter unit on. There was a faint clicking sound as the lights lit up. "This will be very useful."

Ture's eyes were wide with interest. "You're going to get past the next level, aren't you?"

Avon looked up from studying the unit. A grin touched his lips. "Not just the next level."

Ture's eyes opened even wider. "Would you…would you mind if I watched? I won't bother you."

The ex-military tech had a love of computers and gadgetry that resonated with Avon. He said, "You can help me."

Ture gave him an enthusiastic smile. "I'd love to."

Avon grimaced at a stab of pain and nearly dropped the emitter. He quickly put it down and leaned back against the chair. In his excitement over the equipment, he'd almost forgotten his injury. It all came crashing in on him: exhaustion from their multiple escapes, his fevered head, and a sudden need to lie down before he did something embarrassing, like faint.

Ture asked with alarm, "You alright, Avon?"

Vila immediately came over in concern. "Ture, do you have any medical equipment? Avon was shot." He felt the injured man's head. "He's running a fever too."

Ture said, "I might have something." He rushed off to another corner of the room and started rummaging.

Vila put his arm around Avon's shoulder and one on his elbow and helped him to stand.

Avon could barely manage to get up and say a faint but grateful, "Thank you, Vila."

"Yeah, where would you be without me," Vila murmured under his breath as Ture came back with a stuffed brown bag and helped Vila get Avon onto the bed.

Avon said in a bare whisper, "You'd be safe."

Vila stared at him. He didn't realize he'd said it loud enough to be heard. "Stop doing that. You're going to spoil my heroic moment."

The merest hint of a smile curled the corners of Avon's lips. "You're an idiot."

"And you're a pain in the…" Vila grinned. "You're welcome."

Avon's eyes closed in exhaustion.

Ture opened up the brown bag began pulling several things from it: a tissue regenerator, a tube of ointment and a bio-injector.

Vila said excitedly, "Where'd you get all these?" He picked up the regenerator. "This looks heavy-duty."

Ture opened up Avon's coat and dress to look at the wound. "It's a military grade tissue regenerator. I told you that I used to be ex-military."

Vila looked along the length of tube-like device admiringly and then handed it to Ture.

The military tech was looking at the wound with disgust, "Someone sealed this up with…what looks like greaving wire! That's barbaric! Was someone trying to torture him?"

Vila said, "I don't think so. It was the Doc. He didn't have the right equipment but he did the best he could."

Ture said, "The man's a hack! I'd never go to him."

"Well, we didn't have much of a choice." Vila eyed the wealth of medical equipment. "But if I knew you had all this…"

Ture studied the wire holding the wound together. "I'll have to remove these. You're lucky I also have some strong pain meds." He searched through the bag again and drew out a fine laser lance and a vial.

The door chimed. Vila looked at Ture with alarm. "Tell me you're expecting visitors."

Ture said, "I don't think so."

"I told you not to tell me that."

Ture went quickly over to the computer corner. "I can tap into the surveillance feed…"

There was a muffled voice from the other side of the door. "Ture, let me in! It's Allren."

"Allren!" Ture raced over to the door and opened it quickly.

A brown-jacketed man with black calf-length leather boots rushed in. "Ture, they've stepped up the patrols…" He jerked to a stop when he saw the two strangers. His hand seemed to reach for a weapon that wasn't visible but he stopped. With a wary look in his eyes, he asked, "What did you get yourself into this time?"

Ture grinned and said to Vila, "This is my friend, Allren. We were both techs in the military."

Allren moved over to look down at Avon. "_Ex_-military."

Ture said, "He never thinks I can take care of myself. He's funny that way."

Allren rolled his eyes. "Alright, who are these and how much trouble are we in?"

Part 09

Vila really wished he had thought of packing as if he had never expected to return to his flat. There were too many things he wanted that he was probably never going to get back. The few mementos of a forgettable childhood weren't as important as the specialized burglary tools he had hidden in secret places in the wall. He winced as he imagined the ham-fisted security people trashing his place out of spite. It really was never a good idea to get on their bad side. Not that he was following his own advice of course. Or he wouldn't be in the current mess he was in, helping a man who was wanted in all the known Sectors and who refused to leave even though there was a dragnet out for him.

"Avon, d'you want anything? I'm going to make myself a sandwich."

The Alpha was bent over the computer in the corner. He was a figure of intense concentration. There was no answering reply.

Vila repeated, "Avon, are you hungry?"

The man said absently, "I don't need anything."

_You don't need anything. You never need anything._

Vila sometimes wondered if the man was human. He didn't seem to need to eat much, just a cup of water hastily gulped down. Vila had been sneaking an energy drink in occasionally, hoping Avon would be so preoccupied that he wouldn't notice. He hadn't.

There was little he could do about the sleeping though. He could hear Avon working away into the early hours of the morning. The next morning, he'd still be in the same position. Vila doubted if he'd gotten more than a couple of hours rest since they arrived at Ture's flat.

That was five days ago. Avon was still glued to the computer, trying to break into various Federation security networks. It was hard not to tell what they were when the screens popped up with bold logos and dire warnings of death and dismemberment for any illegal access to the system. Though Vila guessed that the dismemberment probably would come first. Most likely using a very dull knife.

Vila came back with two plates of sandwiches and set one down beside Avon. "Just in case you decide that starving isn't an option today."

He cleared a space at a cluttered table and began eating as he watched Avon work. The man didn't seem to notice there was a plate next to him. Vila made light conversation with Avon's back. It was the only part of the Alpha that he had seen in days. He said jokingly, "You know, Avon, if you don't turn around soon, I'm going to start forgetting what your face looks like. That might be important, you know. In case I have to identify your body."

Vila took a bite out of his sandwich and tried to wash down the taste with some ale. Ture didn't have much in the way of foodstuffs and what he did have left a lot to be desired. What Vila had thought was synthi-chicken slices, was more reminiscent of old shoe coverings that had been left out on a heating vent too long.

He remarked to the non-responsive Avon, "You might be smart not to eat this. Starving might look pretty good after a few more slices."

_Next time, I'm going to ask Allren if he can pick up some real food._

The two tech mercenaries were off on an urgent job somewhere. They'd be back in two days. Vila and Avon were welcome to use the flat to hide out as long as they needed.

Vila forced down a few more mouthfuls and rinsed the taste with more ale. The sleeve of his light brown shirt was coming undone again. It was a size too large and had to be folded. At least they'd managed to get out of their disguises. Vila didn't mind women's clothing, as long as he wasn't the one wearing them. He and Avon had on non-descript brown labour-grade outfits. Avon still looked too much like an Alpha but at least his clothes didn't.

They'd been lucky that Ture had the medical supplies to heal Avon's blaster injury and to take care of the infection he had developed. He was still weak and pale but Vila suspected that was more from the lack of food and virtually no rest.

Vila wondered when he could broach the subject of escaping Earth. Ture's place might be safe for now but there was still a manhunt out for Avon. It was only a matter of time before they were found. They couldn't stay here forever. The longer they lingered, the more dangerous it was for them. They had to getaway soon but Vila knew that Avon wouldn't leave until he found Anna.

So far all of Avon's efforts had failed. He had broken into one network after another but it was almost as if Anna never existed.

He glanced over at Avon. The plate was still untouched. He sighed and went over. "Avon..." Vila heard a light snoring sound. Avon was slumped over in his chair fast asleep. The rest of his body was like a working statue, upright and fingers still touching the control pad. Vila was afraid to move him over to the bed. Avon might wake and continue working. Instead, he found a blanket and put it around him. "It's just as well. I was starting to think you weren't human." He saw the edges of something sticking out from Avon's pocket, as if he had half-thrust it back in. Vila's deft fingers lifted it. He hadn't noticed this item before. Vila unfolded it carefully; it was a picture of a woman.

_This must be Anna._Vila was almost disappointed. She didn't seem that remarkable to him but then he wasn't the one who was in love with her.

Vila carefully refolded the paper and placed it back into Avon's pocket.

_Maybe I was wrong. You're __all too human and you're going to get yourself killed because of her._

Part 10

Vila's eyes nervously ranged left and right, up and down; any direction where Federation authorities might suddenly spring from, which seemed to be everywhere to his over-active imagination. His steps were heavy, not like his normal light-footed self. He dreaded the news he was about to deliver to a man he wasn't sure could take it.

It had been ten days since he had found the injured Alpha and the Central Security dragnet had still not let up. They were like bloodhounds that would not give up until they tasted blood. They seemed as desperate to find the man who was sitting in a small flat, his red-shot eyes glued to a computer screen, as the man was frantic to find the woman he had lost.

Every day they stayed on Earth, they came one day closer to being caught. It was only a matter of time. The Federation Security forces always got their man or woman, the vids and news services said so. Vila had no cause to doubt them. No one he knew had ever escaped them. Not even himself. Vila shivered as he remembered the years he had spent in the juvenile rehab colony.

He had not been able to convince Avon to leave Earth to save himself. His life didn't seem to matter to him, he was solely focused on finding Anna and saving her from whatever danger he was certain she was in. His mood shifted from confidence to depression and back again and sometimes both at the same time.

_She has to be in hiding, Vila.__ Just as we are. She's intelligent. She would not have let them take her so easily._

At times Avon would entertain the idea of giving himself up, but only if he could be certain that it would save her life. Unfortunately, he had not been able to find any information on Anna. None of the Federation Security agencies had any record of her being in their custody. That was why he was so certain that she was still alive and was in hiding. It was why he would not save himself and leave Earth. He would not leave her behind.

_H__e will have to leave now_, thought Vila with a heavy heart. He had the information that Avon had steadfastly refused entertain.

Vila had thought of leaving many times the last few days. Thought of it and dismissed every time his eyes rested on the frantic man. He couldn't leave Avon. Vila didn't know at what point he had begun to lump his fate with that of the man he had very few experiences in common with.

*********

As Vila had expected, when he entered the flat, Avon was still in the same position he was before. The only signs of life were the moving fingers on the keyboard. The plate and cup that Vila had placed there before he left were still untouched.

Vila sighed and removed the uneaten items. He sat down beside Avon. The man didn't seem to notice that anyone had entered the flat or was sitting next to him.

Vila said, "There's a fire. The whole building is about to burn down. There's also a flood."

Avon remarked absently, "Then the water should take care of the fire." He got up, stretched his sore back and went to get one of the uneaten sandwiches.

"It's no joke, Avon." Vila followed behind him.

Avon turned to look at him. "It certainly sounds like one." He suddenly noticed the unhappy look on Vila's face. He asked sharply, "What's wrong?"

Vila had thought that his news would solve many problems. Avon would finally be able to tear himself from Earth and they would both be saved. But now, faced with the event, Vila was very reluctant to burst the illusions of the man who needed to believe that the woman he loved was still alive. "I have something to tell you."

Vila could see the tension in the other man's eyes. And the fear that he usually hid so well. Avon dropped the sandwich back on the plate. He said in a harsh voice, "Tell me."

"You're not going to like it. In fact, I'm sure you're going to hate it. You're going to…"

"_Now, Vila._"

Vila's news came out in a barely heard whisper. "Anna is dead."

Avon grabbed Vila's arm in a vice-like grip. He exclaimed in a disbelieving whisper, "No!"

Vila winced at the pain but his voice was empathic. "I'm sorry, Avon, but my contact is never wrong. He said… that Anna died several days ago."

Avon let go of Vila's arm and his mouth opened in shock. He looked like a man whose entire world had been torn apart. Avon's legs no longer had the strength to hold up the burden of a man who had suddenly lost everything. He sank slowly to his knees.

"Anna?" He said the name as if she was in the room and he hoped to hear a reply.

For a man who rarely showed emotions on his face, any display of one, no matter how small, had great impact. The pain on Avon's face and the sense of loss in his eyes was not small. Vila knelt down beside the grief-stricken man. "Avon, I'm sorry."

Avon turned uncomprehending eyes to him. He seemed to be reduced to single words. "Why? How?"

"I don't know, Avon. My contact never said but he was certain she was dead. He got the news straight from someone in Security."

Avon grabbed him by the collar. "Where?"

"He didn't know."

Letting go of Vila's collar, Avon turned away from him. His head bowed and his eyes seemed deep in thought.

"Avon, we should think of leaving now. Get away from Earth. Every day we stay here is dangerous. It's only a matter of time before they find us."

Avon said distractedly, "You go."

Vila was rarely forceful but fear or love can give you the capacity to do many things. He took hold of Avon's collar and turned his head to face him. "Avon! Snap out of it. You wouldn't go because Anna wasn't dead and you had to find her. And now that she's dead, you still won't go? Are you trying to get yourself killed?"

Avon looked down at the hands holding him. "Let go of me." The chill in his tone made Vila let go. Avon got up and began pacing the room, his hands clasped behind his back.

Vila stood up slowly as he watched Avon. "That's it, isn't it? You want to get yourself killed. You can't live without her."

Avon stopped his pacing. His back was to him, Vila couldn't see his face. Though Avon wasn't moving now, tension seemed to emanate from every part of his body.

Vila came up behind him. "Avon, I don't know Anna but I know she wouldn't have wanted you to die."

For a long time, there was no response from Avon. Then in an anguished voice that he was trying to force some semblance of control, Avon asked, "How would you know?"

"Because she loved you. She would've wanted you to live. Maybe avenge her death somehow. Find out who did this to her. But you can't if you're dead or rotting away on some Federation penal colony."

Vila paused so Avon could say something. There was no response.

Vila asked, "That's what you would have wanted for her, isn't it? If your positions were reversed? You would want her to go on. To live her life without you. I'm not asking you to forget her, Avon. Just save yourself now. For Anna."

A moment of silence fell between them then Avon said, "That sounded suspiciously like a rational argument." His voice had returned to the flat, impassive tone of a man who only dealt in facts.

"I don't care if it's rational. I only care if it worked."

"Spoken like a truly _irrational_ man."

"Well, did it? Work?"

There was a brief pause this time as Avon seemed to consider this. "I have two blank exit visas."

For the first time, Vila realized that he had assumed that he was going with Avon. He had taken for granted that Avon would want him along. He breathed a sigh of silent relief. Maybe the Alpha did like him after all. "Well, I wouldn't want you to waste it."

"Of course not."

Another thing occurred to Vila. He had been so focused on trying to get Avon to leave that he had never thought how they might accomplish it. "Avon. Uh…it's going to take a miracle to get off Earth without being caught, and the last time I checked, the Federation outlawed miracles."

Avon turned around slowly. There was the barest hint of a smile at the corner of his lips. "We don't need a miracle. Just my brain and skills and yours."

"You're not thinking of those disguises again, are you?" Vila put his hands on his hips. He still remembered the skirt that had begun to feel just a little too comfortable.

"I think we can do much better than that." A smile played on his lips.

The two men went off into the sunset, ready to take on the galaxy together.


End file.
